Pokemon Go Top Tips & Tricks

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm and now has millions of users worldwide. Below, we have listed some helpful Pokemon Go tips and tricks to help you catch them all!

Get Pikachu At The Start

When opening a new Pokemon Go account you will be asked to catch your first Pokemon which are usually the same old classic Pokemon such as Squirtle and Charmander.

However, if you walk away from them (literally) until your phone vibrates, you will be offered the 3 classic Pokemon again, walk away again and repeat this 3 to 5 times and after this Pikachu should appear.

Turn Off AR Mode

Although it looks much cooler with it on, switching off the AR mode turns your camera off, so all you see is the virtual Pokemon world, and many users claim it gives you a much improved catch rate and means you will waste less Pokeballs.

To turn off the AR mode, tap the button on the top right of your screen labelled AR.

Get Rewarded For Doubles

You may think twice about catching a Pokemon you already have in your collection, however, these duplicate Pokemon can be traded for candy, which helps your other Pokemon evolve, so its worth catching them just for this.

To do this, simply hit transfer when you have selected the Pokemon you want to get rid of.

hold down on your Poke Ball and spin it in a circular motion with your finger. This will create a curve ball, and if you hit and capture a Pokémon with this move you'll gain some extra XP.

Download Google Maps

The Pokemon Go app gathers its map data directly from Google. If you download your home and work areas on your phone from the Google Maps app, it will improve your playing experience of Pokemon Go and speed up the overall performance of the game as it will not have to keep redrawing your local map locations.

To save the maps, go on the Google Maps app and go on the settings menu and hit the offline areas option, now press the '+' icon and select the area you want to download.

Track Wanted Pokemon

You can track the Pokemon you desire the most by selecting it in the nearby menu. Once selected go back to the map and the Pokemon you chose will be in the bottom right hand corner along with their paw prints. You can use these paw prints to locate your selected Pokemon.

Catch The Train Or Bus

Users have found by playing Pokemon Go on the train or bus is a great way to catch Pokemon you may not usually find in your local surroundings, but be quick before your bus or train moves on!

All About CP

CP means Combat Power and can be found above your wild Pokemon. This indicates their battle ability. As you gather more experience points and level up as a trainer, these figures will become higher.

All About Lucky Eggs

Lucky Eggs can only be purchased in the shop with coins. A major benefit of these lucky eggs is you get double the amount of experience points.

Experience Points Explained

On Pokemon Go, you get experience points (XP) for mostly everything you do on the game. Below, we have listed how many points you get for each action:

When you reach level 5 as a trainer and you decide to visit a Pokemon Gym, you will be asked to pick a team, there are 3 different options, the yellow team Instinct, the read team Valour and the blue team Mystic.

Once you have selected a team to join, there is no going back so be wise and select carefully.

Generally, there is no difference between the teams, however, there are a few factors to take into consideration, for example, if you want to play Pokemon Go with your friends, you may want to decide to be on the same team or go against each other and you should also research which teams are most popular in your region, then you can decide if you want to join the strongest team or the underdog.

Look Out For Fluttering Leaves

From our understand these fluttering leaves indicate a Pokemon spawn point and if you hang out in this area for long enough you may just find a Pokemon which is not visible on your maps radar.

Dodgy Start

We have discovered that if you swipe right or left to dodge at the start of the battle, you will often earn yourself an extra attack or two before your opponent can catch up. This works best for the smaller and quicker Pokemon.

PokeStop Freebies

Pokestops are great places to find free new items, along with parks and shopping centres.

Great Balls

When you reach level 12 as a trainer you will start getting Great Balls, which will help you catch more of the rarer Pokemon.

Gym It

If you don't want to spend money to get PokeCoins then joining the gym is the only way you can gain them without spending.

Pokemon Healing

Sadly Pokemon don't heal on their own, you will need to use healing item to get them back to full health after a bruising battle.

Deleting The App

If you wish to totally delete your Pokemon Go account along with all the data they have collected from you, simply deleting the app will not be sufficient, you will need to submit a deletion request on the Niantic website.

Earn Free Pokecoins And Stardust

You can earn free Pokecoins and Stardust by putting your Pokemon in gyms and defending them from any competitors. You can only have 10 of your Pokemon placed in gyms at one time and with only one of your Pokemon per gym allowed.

If you defend a gym for 20 hours you will be rewarded with 10 free Pokecoins and 500 Stardust.